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(London), 21 April 1991.

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Berri in Paris," in
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Smith, Roberta, "In Schiaparelli's Hands, Women as Works
of Art," in the
New York Times,
18 December 1995.

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Sensation of Paris Through the 1930s, Looks Forward," in
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13 September 1999.

***

Elsa Schiaparelli considered designing an art rather than a profession,
making the unconventional acceptable. Born into a high ranking Italian
family, her creativity was influenced by accepting the visually rich and
rebelling against her extremely regulatory and proper upbringing. Much
of her extravagance was inspired by the proper yet dramatic vestments of
the priests and nuns remembered from her youth in Rome, combined with
the city's architecture, magnificent medieval manuscripts, and
ancient Greco-Roman mythology from the library where her father worked.
The opulent and fanciful bead-work and embroidery Schiaparelli later
produced in Paris was reminiscent of stained glass windows and had its
roots in her youth in Italy. Other influences in her work were the
futurists, cubists, New York dadaism, Parisian surrealists, and art
déco.

Schiaparelli began designing gowns for herself and friends in 1915, with
help and influence from Paul Poiret. She was an inventor of clothes; her
clothes were immediately considered avant-garde, individualistic,
eccentric, yet easy to wear. Sportswear, coordinated beachwear, and
matching bags and shoes characterized her early work. Unusual fabrics
such as upholstery material and terrycloth for beachwear and zippers on
ski ensembles were characteristic.

Schiaparelli was a contemporary of Chanel. They worked during the same
period and both started out designing sweaters—yet these are the
only similarities they shared. Schiaparelli's initial success
came with her
tromp l'oeil
sweater featuring a knitted-in bow at the neckline. So influential were
these sweaters that additional designs followed, which included belts,
handkerchiefs, and men's ties, all utilizing the unique methods
of Armenian knitters. The immediate success of her sweaters allowed
Schiaparelli to open her own shop on the rue de la Paix, the most
fashionable street in Paris in 1927. An amazing success, it was
estimated that by 1930 her company's income was approximately 120
million francs per year and her workrooms employed more than 2,000
people. She introduced good working-class clothes into polite society
and understood how snob appeal worked through pricing.

After the Great Depression, fashion was in desperate need of excitement.
Schiaparelli was to answer this call—she shocked as well as
entertained the public, believing good taste was less important than
creativeness, outrageousness, and fun. It was her belief that women
should dare to be different, and through wearing attention-seeking
clothes, a woman became chic. Utilizing wit and shock tactics to arm
modern women, Schiaparelli believed they would gain equality and
independence.

The extraordinary and unusual were expected of Schiaparelli; she
didn't disappoint. She was the first couturier to use brightly
colored zippers, using them initially on sportswear, beginning in 1930,
and reintroducing them in 1935 on evening dresses. She collaborated with
fabric houses to develop unusual novelty prints and unique materials.
When Rhodophane, a cellophane material, was invented, she made
glass-like tunics. Schiaparelli was known for such fabrics as
"anthracite," a coal-like rayon; "treebark,"
a matte crêpe crinkled in deep folds to look like bark; and fabrics
printed with newsprint.

Her commissions of contemporary artists were legendary—they
included Christian Bérard, Jean Cocteau, and Salvador Dali. Their
collaborations led to such eccentric designs as the lamb-cutlet hat, the
brain hat, the shoe hat, and the suit with pockets that simulated a
chest of drawers. She also incorporated oversized buttons in the shape
of peanuts, bumblebees, and rams' heads. Her basic silhouettes
were often simple and easy-to-wear, but through witty embellishments on
a variety of themes such as the military, the zodiac, and the circus,
they became unique. Through the study of Tunisian methods of sewing,
draping, and veil twisting, Schiaparelli brought Arab breeches,
embroidered shirts, and wrapped turbans to Paris fashion, as well as
huge pompom-rimmed hats, barbaric belts, jewelry, and the
"wedgie"—a two-inch-soled shoe that would be a
trend throughout the 20th century and into the next.

There was also a more cautious side to Schiaparelli, which appealed to
the somewhat more conservative woman. For this woman, her severe suits
and plain black dresses were appealing. To her tailored ensembles she
added trousers and unconsciously influenced the mix-and-match sportswear
concept which wasn't fully recognized for the next 40 to 50
years. She showed her trouser suits for every occasion—travel,
citywear, evening, and sports. After the acceptance of these slimmer,
more slender divided skirts as they were called, she took the next step
and shortened them, thus creating the culotte.

Black and the combination of black with white were favorites of
Schiaparelli. In 1936 she launched shocking pink, a brilliant pink
somewhere between fuchsia and red, and it became the hallmark of her
couture house. Schiaparelli's influence can still be seen today
in the masculine chic looks, the surrealistic accessories, and ornate
buttons. She broke down the walls dividing art and fashion and
anticipated the 21st century's eclectic approach to designing.
Elsa Schiaparelli remains an everlasting influence on contemporary
fashion.

—Roberta H. Gruber;

updated by Nelly Rhodes

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